Decision : CONF 004 IX.22
SOC: Venice (Italy)

22. The same delegate informed the Committee of his concern over the announcement of a universal exhibition in Venice. The fragile structures and the limited space of this town, inscribed together with its lagoon on the World Heritage List in 1987, made Venice extremely vulnerable to the effects of mass events. The Secretariat informed the Committee that the Director-General had already written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy requesting more details on this project. The Committee decided to launch the following appeal:

The World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 13th session at Unesco headquarters in Paris from 11 to 15 December 1989, expressed its grave concern about the new threats to Venice which is inscribed on the World Heritage List. A universal exhibition, which would attract several hundreds of thousands of visitors in addition to the usual surge of tourists, risks threatening the integrity of this heritage which is unique in the history, art and civilization of humanity. The World Heritage Committee calls upon the Italian authorities so that irreparable damage can be avoided.